1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer electronic component having internal circuit elements located at an interior portion thereof, a method of manufacturing such multilayer electronic components and a method of measuring characteristics thereof, and more particularly, the invention relates to an improvement in a method of forming external electrodes in such a multilayer electronic component.
2. Description of the Background Art
A multilayer electronic component such as a multilayer capacitor, a multilayer inductor, a multilayer circuit board or a multilayer composite electronic component, for example, comprises a laminate which is formed by stacking a plurality of insulating sheets having internal circuit elements such as conductor films and/or resistor films formed thereon. The insulating sheets are typically prepared from ceramic sheets.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional multilayer electronic component 1. The multilayer electronic component 1 comprises a laminate 2, which is formed by stacking a plurality of insulating sheets having internal circuit elements (not shown) formed thereon. External electrodes 3 are formed on four side surfaces, for example, of the laminate 2, respectively. These external electrodes 3 are electrically connected with the internal circuit elements which are positioned in the interior of the laminate 2. While the external electrodes 3 are formed by applying suitable metal films to specific portions of the respective side surfaces of the laminate 2 relatively wide, parts of the external electrodes 3 must extend toward upper and lower major surfaces of the laminate 2.
Such a multilayer electronic component 1 is surface-mounted on a circuit board through the external electrodes 3, in the form of a chip.
In the aforementioned multilayer electronic component 1, however, the external electrodes 3 are formed to extend toward the upper and lower major surfaces of the laminate 2 with relatively wide areas. When another electronic component is mounted on either major surface of the multilayer electronic component 1 to form a composite component an area capable of mounting such an electronic component is limited.
In order to manufacture such multilayer electronic components 1, the laminate 2 is independently prepared for each multilayer electronic component 1 and then provided with the aforementioned external electrodes 3. The laminate is subjected to formation of a resistor film on its surface, trimming of the resistor film, measurement of electric characteristics, formation of an overcoat and the aforementioned mounting of another electronic component as needed. However, it is relatively complicated and difficult to accurately carry out such steps for each laminate 2 after manufacturing the multilayer electronic component 1. Thus, a more efficient method of multilayer electronic components is required.